Cherry Blossom Palette: Summer by the Sea

Chapter 42: Sunblock Shenanigans (Advanced)

Sunshine Arc

Written by EmtenDew

Edited by P. serrulata

Author's note :

ED: For today's chapter—

Sunblock "pillow talk"!

It's a shorter chapter, since shenanigans can always get "worse"~.

And for the chapter's title card, have a little best girl pair! I've missed seeing them in their Sunday funday dresses.

…

Netflix FINALLY put out up to Episode 23 of Pokémon Horizons, though they should've gone to Episode 25, because that's where the first big arc of the season ends. Thankfully, England and/or Australia (I think) have released the dub up to Episode 28, so the episodes are steadily coming out, or at least I hope they are.

I'll say it again, Netflix is doing a good job with the dub, which is a lot more than can be said of some of their work, but it helps when they have good material to begin with.

I daresay that Horizons may be the best Pokémon season ever released, though it's actually the second series released. It's amazing what can be done when the creators ACTUALLY care about the quality of their product.

She hasn't shown her full potential in the dub yet (20-some episodes behind the sub), but little Hatenna is a real MVP. I can't wait to see more of her.

And I can't wait to see Hatenna evolve into Hattrem. Because when Tinkatink evolves into Tinkatuff, we'll have two of the dastardliest Pokémon fighting side by side. And the final forms of Hatenna and Tinkatink are even MORE dastardly. You have one that loves to feed off negative emotions by building people up and tearing them down and giving headaches to those bothering it, and one that carries a 100 kg hammer and dismembers steel type Pokémon to further its compulsion to practice blacksmithing.

PS seems to like the idea too. The only reason I mention it is that he posted about it on Reddit but didn't get much positive feedback, not that he was surprised.

…

Speaking of my editor, PS is happy and sad all at once this week.

I guess he's getting paid a lot of money by one of the universities near him to allow their crop research programs to use a small section of his farm fields. All he has to do is keep an eye on their plots and make sure they don't go up in flames or anything. He's happy about that.

And he's sad because the "enemies of the lulz" have yet again tried taking down Encyclopedia Dramatica, disabling the website.

I've visited Encyclopedia Dramatica, and it's a messed up place. To be fair, PS told me to NOT visit the place, given my disposition, but sometimes I think he's exaggerating (which he doesn't often do) and don't listen. It's like all the bad stuff on the internet that's not actually illegal has been gathered in one place. That's exactly what it is: an online encyclopedia of all the not illegal bad things you can find on the internet.

There's been stuff that made me laugh to the point of tears, but you need to be careful around there.

…

Canon 149 was pretty useless.

Nothing happened, unless you count a model session using a sick in the head ronin wearing a nude suit as something.

And a sick in the head busybody girl being jealous over it for no reason isn't much of anything either.

There's a reason that Naoto isn't comfortable sharing certain things with Nagatoro. It's because she can't be trusted to act like a decent human being. She refuses to react reasonably or maturely to most things, especially anything involving other females, and always makes it about her, because that's all that matters to her.

She's NEVER done something just for Naoto, giving of herself out of love. It's ALWAYS about her in the end with no exceptions.

He needs to lay down the law with her and tell her she isn't the only girl on Earth.

I hope the series ends soon… or gets better. I'll stop whining.

…

Ask us anything, and we'll add a Q&A section in the next chapter.

It's good to know that you keep reading, so I would be happy if you drop comments and ask questions.

Please enjoy what I wrote.

Saturday, July 28, 2018

Having rejected Sakura's less-than-serious invitation to rub sunscreen into his collected favorite parts of the human female body—hers, naturally, in this case, Naoto didn't take long in finishing her back.

"There," he said. "Done."

"Well, that was fast~," she simpered.

He rubbed his hands on himself, hoping to rid himself of the excess mango/guava-smelling sunblock.

"Like you said, the back is a finite area," he recalled her work on his back.

More time had been spent in pulling Naoto's leg than it had actually taken in applying Sakura's UV protection sauce…

While he could have plopped onto his rump to watch time pleasantly slip away—

"Hey, Senpai-kun, get back down here," Sakura invited.

He'd wanted to join her again, shoulder-to-shoulder, but he'd been on the fence about it, given she was essentially topless.

"Sure…" he answered

He eased himself back down to her side.

Need to be careful… Eyes forward… Only look at her face…

"Hey, chillax, bud~," Sakura chirped. "I'm covered up."

"Mrmbl…" He wanted to chillax. "I know…"

The bikini's leftmost string was trapped by his elbow…

"…~" Sakura breathed in deeply. "Ahh! Ain't it just grand~?"

"'Ain't'?" Naoto parroted.

She admonished, "Hey, no 'grammar-police' at the beach, pal!"

"…" He didn't care that much. "I guess it is grand though."

"Ain't it~?!"

"Hoo… Alright, it ain't not grand."

"…~" Kohai basked in all the goodness from overhead.

"…" Senpai was thinking… mostly about mundane stuff. "Sakura-san?"

"What's up?"

"I was wondering, you know how you said you tan at a salon?"

Which was done in the nude~, at least by the gal…

"Yup~." She nodded. "What, do you wanna do a couples' membership with me~? It'd save me about ¥3,000 a month if you—"

"No, no…" he couldn't help but chuckle, though he was just as disconcerted as amused. "No, I don't know if I wanna tan in a salon. I just had some questions… just wondering…"

"Okay, shoot~."

"…What's it like… using a tanning bed?"

"Oh, I don't use those."

"No?"

"No, they don't tan you evenly. I use a walk-in. You stand and have UV-lamps coming from every direction—besides from under your feet, and you can hold these support-bars over your head. You can tan literally every bit of your body… except for the bottoms of your feet. And it tans you evenly."

"I guess I didn't think about that…" Naoto admitted. "I guess I heard beds can do an uneven job."

She responded, "Well, if you do want to get in on a salon to try a walk-in, in all seriousness, definitely talk to me. We could get a discount."

"I'll think about it," he noncommitted.

"Offer's there if you want it."

"Sure."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Hey, Sakura-san?"

"Yeah?"

"So, what, do you use a certain suntan-lotion or anything at the salon?"

"No. You're not in there long enough to make much use of it, not the normal stuff. It's 10 to 15 minutes you're in there—tops. They do make special lotions that specifically are meant for artificial tanning, but when I tried a few, I never got the results I wanted, and the stuff is so expensive."

"I guess it just takes time."

"It does. You develop a tan slowly. But I always treat my skin after a tan. Moisturizers and stuff."

"I see."

"…"

"…"

"So, you working on anything new, Senpai-kun?"

"You mean art?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I haven't been in the art room since Wednesday, and I was mostly doing schoolwork, so, no, I guess. I was still just working on that still-life with the bust."

"But you did bring a few supplies along today~. Hana-chan did too."

"We might do some sketching later."

"I think it'd be fun for everyone~."

"Might."

"…"

"…"

"Heh~…" Sakura snickered softly. "Shee-hee-hee~…"

'Uh-oh…' Naoto squirmed. "What is it?"

"I have an idea for a game, Senpai-kun~."

"Where'd this come from?"

"I was thinking about something dumb, and I thought it'd be a fun game to play~."

Oh, shit…

He'd bite anyway. "And what would that be?"

"Y'know how sometimes you get frustrated or angry?" she rhetorical'd.

"…Yeah?"

She said, "Sometimes, when I get pissed off about something… or at someone, I'll think about the most inappropriate thing I can possibly say and not say it. It helps me to keep my mouth shut, and it can even be funny~."

"…Okay…"

"But even more often, it's fun to think about wildly inappropriate things to say… in any situation… just for the Hell of it~!"

"Oh, boy…" Naoto grimaced. "And what's that got to do with a game?"

"You go first~."

"You didn't explain the game… and why would I wanna play?"

"'Cause it's a pisser, that's why~! And you play by thinking of something I could say to ruin the moment and then come up with something you could say to ruin the moment."

"This sounds like a worse idea than—"

"Aw, humor me, buddy~. Then, I'll take a turn at it."

"…"

"Okay, so, what are your submissions, Mr. Hachioji~?"

"I never said I'd play…"

"Sure you did~! You said it silently… with your heart and feelings and whatnot."

"How do you know?"

"Strong instincts~."

"…"

"…~!"

"Uh…" Naoto contemplated.

Sakura gleamed. "…~?"

"Pfft~" he abruptly snorted, something awful crossing his mind.

"Yeah~?"

"…I don't think I should, Sakura-san."

"C'mon!" she pressured. "We've talked about pretty much everything, haven't we? I'm sure it's not that bad."

A bold proclamation, considering the male mind…

"…" Naoto didn't like being pressured.

But he loved shooting the breeze with Sakura.

Every so often, it was shooting the SHIT…

And they'd spent plenty of time together in the toilet… in a figurative sense.

Holy crap…

"Okay…" he led in. "What I was thinking—what I'm picturing is this…"

"Yes~?" Sakura sang.

This was a bad idea…

"Okay…" he exhaled. "You're on your stomach, and I'm still putting on your sunblock."

"Okay~."

This was potentially a worse idea than giving Monica Rial and Jamie Marchi jobs… or letting them be first in line at the buffet…

Naoto tendered, "We're just talking about… whatever, like we were, and you suddenly say…"

"What does Sakura suddenly say~?", the same such churned.

This was otherworldly stuff, the risk he was taking…

He took it, "Well… you saying, 'Hey, buddy, sorry, but I gotta go take a huge dump,' would be pretty bad."

How she'd react could've been anyone's guess, but it didn't shock him to have her burst out laughing.

"Bwah! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha~!" she extended it heartily.

Naoto just blushed. "…"

A girl laughing from the bottom of her heart was USUALLY beautiful—and no doubt, this was, even if it WAS as bawdy as the notion of hitting a turd with a tennis racket… an act known as the "chocolate waffle"…

Sakura's guffaw was conclusively bawdy, "Hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo~! That's nasty, buddy~!"

"S-sorry…" he mumbled.

"Don't be!" She bumped her shoulder into his, red with mirth. "I asked you to say it."

"Ack! Careful! Your top!"

"It's fine. Boobs, y'know, they pendulate, so as long as I hold contact with the ground, the part I'm not supposed to show stays on the ground, and I'm able to move to a limited extent."

"Bwah!" Naoto jilted.

"It's kinda like how you boys can play 'helicopter'~!"

"Ack! What?!"

Those didn't quite equate…

Sakura squawked, "Just imagine it! You step out of a hot shower, and everything's a little bit longer than usual because of the heat, so you can spin it around~!"

"Yipe!"

"Helicopter, helicopter, helicopter, helicopter~!" She moved her body in a tight clockwise fashion, her nips dutifully keeping contact with the blanket.

A game of "helicopter" brought to mind 'Meatspin'…

And he, Shuu, and Tohru had seen that awful GIF a fair few times, dicking around on the internet.

"Oh, damn it, Sakura-san!"

"Okay, so that was something bad I could say! Now, what's something bad you could say~?"

Talk about an abrupt substitution!

"…" Even so, he'd already thought of something, well before she'd introduced the concept of making a pastime of pondering things better left unsaid.

It had happened the moment the fragrance of eucalyptus/spearmint in her hair had made its way into the olfactory…

Just looking at him, Sakura could tell he had something. "C'mon, c'mon~!"

"Okay…" Naoto thought this was even more dangerous than the suggestion of a substantial Sakura-ish bowel-movement. "How about… 'You smell like my mother today,' that's pretty bad."

"Eww~!" she caterwauled. "'Cause it's messed up? Or 'cause it's true~?"

"…Both."

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" she gave it freely, hooting with it.

'Wow…' Naoto hadn't expected her to laugh so much at his malarkey.

More "innocuous" things had seen her heading for the hills…

"Yeah…" Sakura submitted, letting up with a giggle. "I suppose I kinda do. You didn't notice I started using the same product I found in your bath?"

"Not really…" He'd turned his dials down in a hurry. "My mom uses so much of the stuff, I barely notice it anymore, though lots of people use it. And you, you normally don't go so heavy on anything you wear, so…"

He maintained each girl he knew had a scent of her own, though Sakura's—lovely as it was—was oftentimes very mild, often barely perceptible, though the mango/guava lotion had served as a reminder of what he'd smelled on her in the past.

Regardless, he did notice the eucalyptus/spearmint product on her that Friday night at his house, if only for the freshness of it… and that the bathroom had been rife with it.

Sakura promoted, "Yeah, I know how bad it is when other girls use too much fragrance and junk, so I try to avoid that. I'm sure you can relate to when another guy uses way too much cologne."

"Sure." He didn't wear any, but he knew.

Not that it wasn't plain when GIRLS wore too much scented-lotion or perfume either…

She was of the same mind. "Hayacchi sometimes uses way too much of that slop she likes."

"Yeah…" He knew it well… and was thankful Sakura didn't proceed to lay into him over it.

"Gamo-chan's gotten better though," she put forth. "It was easy to figure out when she finally decided to try something new."

Given his recent closeness, it had been easy for him to pick up on Gamo-chan's initial over-usage, beginning to wear more than basic deodorant and using more than basic shampoo and bodywash. "I hear you."

"…?"

"…"

Sakura chirruped, not letting this one go, "So, you realized it too~?"

"Alright, alright…" He'd done his share of the deal they'd made. "Okay… you now."

"Me~?" she queried.

"Yes, you."

"Why don't you just do another couple~?"

"Sakura-san, it's your turn to embarrass yourself."

"But you're so good at this~."

"…" He didn't happen to think he'd said anything special.

And how was the quality of two foolish utterances indicative of possible future utterances?!

"…~" Sakura began to beg, her eyes wide and sparkly, her lower-lip all aquiver.

"…!"

"…~"

"Not fair…" He had some perviousness to her beggary.

"…?"

"…"

"…" She considered him. "Okay, tell you what… I'll wait until your guard's down a little… and then, I'll spring 'em on you~."

"What?!"

"I'll fulfill my end of the bargain, but I'll surprise you when I do it~."

"I don't think I like this idea…" He definitely didn't think he would; even so, he did have an idea he could live with. "Anyway, now that I think about it, you've already said a few things that qualify."

"Oh, did I~?"

"Yeah… the thing about the 'helicopter'?" he reminded her.

Not that she hadn't already dropped a few other doozies that day…

Sakura denied, "Oh, c'mon, that wasn't that bad~."

"Yeah… it was."

"Feh… I'll show you bad~!"

"What?!"

And Sakura did the 'helicopter' thing again, this time, revolving her breasts in a counterclockwise direction, combing them across her bikini-top and the old blanket.

"If you buy me a cheeseburger, I'll let you take a peek at these~," she warbled.

That couldn't have felt good, roughing up her areolas like that…

"Uwauauah!" Naoto puled, averting his eyes. "Sakura-san!"

"The things you could say though~?" she hissed. "We keep this up, the things I said pale in comparison to what you would say~! Senpai-kun~!"

"Ack!" He was hesitant to look, the girl huddling up close.

But at least she'd already stopped scraping her teats about…

"Do you still wanna hear the things you could say~?" She was giving him a "way out". "Or do you admit defeat~?"

"Yes, I admit it!" he accepted without hesitation. "You win!"

"I dunno about that, bud, you still seem to be retaliating~."

"Retaliating how?!"

"I detect dissension in your voice~."

"I said I surrender!"

Please look forward to the next chapter! Thanks for reading!

Questions and comments are welcome!